Homicide squad takes over hunt for missing woman

Forensic police are scouring a lane in Brunswick this afternoon for any clues that could lead to the whereabouts of missing ABC employee Jill Meagher, whose disappearance after a night out with colleagues has now turned into a homicide investigation.

A person walking along a lane off Hope Street in Brunswick about 8am today spotted a discarded handbag lying beside a car and alerted police, who have since confirmed the handbag belonged to the 29-year-old Irish national.

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Detective Inspector John Potter, from the homicide squad, said he feared Mrs Meagher, who works as a unit co-ordinator at ABC Radio in Melbourne, had met with foul play.

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"We haven’t found anything physical [to suggest violence] but the very circumstances of the case are worrying, so as a result of that, today the homicide squad missing person's unit have taken over the case. We're hopeful for the best obviously, but we have some concerns that she may have met with foul play," he said.

Mrs Meagher had been out drinking with colleagues after work on Friday, first at The Brunswick Green on Sydney Road, before she continued 200 metres up the road to Bar Etiquette with about three colleagues.

About 1.30am she declined an offer from a male colleague to walk her home, insisting she would be fine alone.

"I rang her mobile pretty much non-stop from two to six in the morning. I also went out looking for her at about five in the morning," Mr Meagher said.

But Mr Meagher, who described his wife of four years as his "best friend", said her phone rang unanswered until about 8am, when it diverted straight to message bank. He believes her phone has run out of battery.

"I spoke to her before I left work [on Friday] and she was in great spirits. Everyone there said she was in good spirits."

Police said Mrs Meagher had consumed some alcohol, but by all accounts she was still well and able to walk home.

Inspector Potter said the streets in that area were well lit and people would usually feel safe in that environment at night.

"Having said that we don’t know what's happened to Jillian and we don’t know the circumstances of her disappearance. But normally people do walk around there. It's a relatively busy time and a busy place, I'm told, in the early hours of Saturday morning," he said.

Early investigations suggest her bank accounts have not been touched since Friday. Police have also viewed some CCTV footage of Mrs Meagher that night, however it did not shed any light on her disappearance.

Police hope to comb through more CCTV footage today, and also to trace her bank accounts and mobile phone records.

A large number of police and State Emergency Service workers are conducting line searches in Brunswick this afternoon, and police will re-trace Mrs Meagher’s movements from when she left work on Friday to when she left Bar Etiquette.

A massive social media campaign is in full swing, with a Facebook page created to raise awareness attracting nearly 24,000 followers by 12.30pm today, up from 8000 followers last night.